madam president i would like to congratulate dr gräßle
our rapporteur tried to reconcile all the parties and by doing this she could identify current problems could find practical solutions and could find compromise
at present things are not too satisfactory
we see the court of auditors refusal to sign off the eu's account for the fourteenth time in a row due to the number of irregularities and fraud cases which involve eu money
it is high time to support a tougher approach tackling the misuse of eu funds
since the establishment of the european public prosecutor's office is postponed it is high time to move forward in the fight against fraud by strengthening the independence of the european anti-fraud office and by strengthening the investigative power of olaf
there is an important point in the gräßle report strengthening cooperation with the member states
although the regulation states that all national and international partners must provide all the cooperation necessary there is no detailed legal basis for such cooperation
the number of obstacles even increases when we come to cross-border anti-fraud cooperation
there is a great need therefore for the amended regulation which comprises a better cooperation management between olaf and the competent authorities of the member states
the only institution which really has the means to protect the financial interest of the eu is the european parliament
if we do not stand up for the fight against corruption and fraud there is no one to replace us
finally i would like to raise an interesting point
while the european countries are among the so-called cleanest countries in the two thousand and eight global corruption perception index according to recent studies these wealthy countries like to show preference for using illegal means for example bribery in their outside overseas businesses
i agree with all those who find these double standards unacceptable
